Spiced Chicken Apricot Pastilla Recipes

SPICY APRICOT CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375. Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Add apricot preserves, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and crushed red pepper flakes to a medium sauce pan and bring to a slight boil. Place beaten egg in one bowl. In another bowl whisk together bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon salt.
• Dip each chicken breast in the egg, tossing to coat, then in the bread crumb mixture, tossing to coat. Pour about 1 cup of sauce into prepared baking dish. Place chicken breasts side by side on top of sauce. Cover chicken with remaining sauce. Bake 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Serve warm.

MOROCCAN APRICOT CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add almonds; cook and stir until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. In the same skillet, brown chicken on both sides. Remove from heat. Transfer chicken to a 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker. Stir chili sauce, preserves, apricots, Moroccan seasoning, vanilla and garlic powder into drippings. Pour over chicken., Cook, covered, on low until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 170°-175°, 4 to 4-1/2 hours. Stir in garbanzo beans and orange juice. Cook, covered, on low until heated through, 15-30 minutes longer. Serve with almonds. If desired, sprinkle with parsley.

SWEET AND SPICY APRICOT BBQ CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• For the apricot BBQ sauce: Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chile and garlic; cook an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the apricot jam; cook until the jam melts, 3 to 4 minutes more. Pour in the orange juice and cider vinegar, bring to a simmer, and then add the ketchup, honey, Dijon and Worcestershire. Adjust the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, until thickened, 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Add salt to taste. Remove 1 cup for basting the chicken; reserve the rest for serving.
• For the chicken thighs: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together the smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
• Place the chicken thighs on two foil-lined baking sheets. Lightly coat the thighs with canola oil and sprinkle liberally with the spice mixture on both sides.
• Bake until the chicken is cooked through, 35 minutes. Turn the oven to broil. Baste the chicken with BBQ sauce and broil until the sauce has caramelized and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the chicken reads 160 degrees F, about 2 minutes. Remove to a platter, let rest for 5 minutes
• Sprinkle the chicken with parsley, and serve with the reserved BBQ sauce.

SPICY APRICOT-GLAZED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat broiler. In a small saucepan, combine the first five ingredients; cook and stir over medium heat until heated through., Place chicken in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 3-4 in. from heat until a thermometer reads 165°, 6-8 minutes on each side. Brush occasionally with preserves mixture during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

SPICY APRICOT-GLAZED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. In a small bowl, stir together jam and red-pepper flakes; set glaze aside.
• Place chicken on an aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Broil until chicken begins to turn opaque, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Brush glaze on chicken. Broil until glaze is browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of chicken registers 165 degrees, 4 to 5 minutes more.

SPICY APRICOT CHICKEN STIR-FRY

Steps:

• Stir together apricot juice, soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl until the cornstarch has dissolved; set aside.
• Heat vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Stir in ginger, and cook until it begins turns golden brown, about 10 seconds. Add the chicken; cook and stir until the chicken turns white and begins to firm. Stir in the stir-fry vegetables, and continue cooking until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the vegetables are hot.
• Stir in the apricots, pineapple chunks, and apricot juice mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook until the sauce thickens and clears, about 1 minute. Stir in green onion before serving.

MOROCCAN ROAST CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS

Steps:

• Spatchcock the chickens - see tip, below, or ask your butcher to do it for you. Put the olive oil, coriander, sumac, cumin, fennel, chilli, garlic, lemon zest and juice, pomegranate molasses and some ground black pepper into a food processor or blender, and whizz to a paste. Divide between 2 large food bags, add a chicken to each, then squeeze out the air and seal before giving everything a good squelch to coat thoroughly. Marinate for 24-48 hrs in the fridge, turning and squishing every so often.
• Fire up a barbecue and let the flames die down, or heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Lift the chicken out of the bags and season well with salt. Barbecue or roast the chicken for 25-30 mins on each side until crisp and cooked through. Set aside on a platter, loosely cover with foil, to rest while you do the apricots. If you roasted rather than barbecued, keep the tin juices warm for serving.
• Put the apricots in a small, snug roasting tin. Whisk the preserved lemon, honey, orange blossom and vinegar with some seasoning. Pour over the apricots and roast, or sit on the barbecue, for 20 mins until soft.
• Serve the chicken with any cooking juices, the apricots and saffron yogurt.

CHICKEN & ALMOND PASTILLAS

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp butter in a large casserole dish, add the onion, ginger and garlic, and cook for 5 mins until soft. Add the cinnamon, the cardamom seeds and the turmeric. Stir around the pan for 30 secs until aromatic, then add the chicken and flour. Stir to coat the chicken pieces, then add the chicken stock and season. Stir, cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 45 mins.
• Remove the lid from the pan and lift the chicken pieces onto a plate. Add the honey and almonds to the cooking liquid and turn up the heat. Bubble the liquid until thick and reduced by about half. Meanwhile, finely shred the chicken with 2 forks. Return the chicken to the sauce and stir in the orange zest, apricots, flaked almonds and parsley - the mixture should be quite thick. Leave to cool.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Unwrap the pastry, keeping any you're not working with under a damp tea towel, so it doesn't dry out. Taking one piece at a time, brush all over with the melted butter, and around the edges with the beaten egg. Put roughly a sixth of the chicken filling in the top right-hand corner in a triangular shape. Fold the opposite side of the pastry over to cover the filling. Keep flipping the encased filing down the pastry, brushing between the layers with butter as you go, to give you a triangular parcel, like a large samosa. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling until you have 6 pastillas. Put the pastillas on a baking tray and brush the tops with egg. Bake for 25 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden.
• For an authentic finish, mix together the remaining cinnamon and icing sugar, and dust the pastillas just before serving.